1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the manipulation of transaction records in a financial institution and, more particularly, to the processing of checks within a multibranch banking organization.
2. Description of the Related Art
The expeditious processing of checks and other transaction records is necessary to minimize the "float" or the funds, represented by transaction records, which are not yet assigned to the target account. Even when the time involved in the transfer is relatively short, the amount of funds in the process of being transferred at any one time can be substantial, resulting in loss of interest.
Referring to FIG. 1, the method of processing checks, according to the prior art, is shown. In step 101, checks are received by a representative of the financial institution, typically at a branch banking or customer facility, and entered into the system for processing checks. At the time the checks are received into a system, the checks are divided into batches, each batch having having a single category of checks included therein in step 102. Typical categories can include large dollar amounts, cashed checks, regular work, and authorized post batch slips. As will be clear, other category groups can be utilized. In step 103, the batches of checks are accumulated in bundles and moved to the central processing location according to a predetermined schedule (i.e. to avoid extraordinary processing requirements at the end of the working day). The bundles that are transferred have an identification slip associated therewith that identifies the originating collecting facility. The bundle which is transferred between the collecting facility and the processing facility is weighed in step 104. The weight of the bundle provides a measure of the number of checks and. other transaction records to be processed by the processing facility. The weight of the bundles can be used to determine the schedule for processing the incoming bundles. In step 105, the operators take the checks and transaction records and add the dollar amount in Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) format fields on the checks and transaction records themselves. The checks and transaction records have information preprinted thereon in MICR fields related to the financial institution issuing the check or transaction record, the customer account of the issuing financial institution, and a sequence number. In step 106, the checks and other transaction records are entered in a MICR reader/sorter machine responsive to the magnetic ink information both preprinted on the checks and transaction records and the magnetic ink information (dollar amount) applied thereto by the operator. The MICR reader/sorters are high speed apparatus which extracts the information in the MICR fields and transmits the information in digitized form to a central processing unit. The MICR reader/sorters, based on the information in the MICR fields, distributes the checks and transaction records to appropriate bins. In step 107, the checks and transaction records in the bins are disposed of in preselected manner. For example, the processed work items can be returned to the appropriate customers. In step 108, reports of the work item processing, including weight of incoming bundles or information resulting from operation of the the MICR reader/sorters, can be provided.
The procedure described above provides limited information with respect to transaction processing activity. The information with respect to the weight of the bundles transferred to the processing facility is used only to schedule the transfer of bundles from the remote location. In particular, the weight information is used to prevent the bulk of the checks and transaction records from being forwarded to a processing facility at the end of the day. In addition, the weight is not easily integrated with the information provided by the MICR fields and can only approximate the actual number of checks included in the bundle. This procedure does not provide detailed information concerning the processing of the transaction batches nor is information available to permit "float" management.
Several improvements on the prior art method of processing checks have been identified. More specifically, improvements have been identified in the MICR apparatus and in techniques for automating the entry of the dollar amount into the data processing system, i.e., without entering the dollar amounts of the checks. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,330, issued Jun. 11, 1985 in the name of, J. D. Cain, a MICR reader and a character recognition system are used to eliminate the step for adding dollar amounts by an operator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,703, issued Apr. 22, 1986 in the name of, L. O. Hallberg, describes a character recognition system such as could be used to read dollar amounts on checks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,309, issued Feb. 9, 1988 in the name of E. B. Greene provides a reader capable of processing checks that includes a special technique for identifying selected fields. U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,673, issued May 31, 1988 in the name of Y. Barre et al, describes an improved magneto-optical character reader wherein the reading heads are not fixed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,021, issued Oct. 4, 1988 in the name of B. C. M. Ho discloses an improved MICR reader which provides compensation for the speed of slips being processed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,938, issued Jan. 10, 1989 in the name of, T. A. Will provides an improved MICR reader wherein the signals from the reader are compared with templates to increase the accuracy. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,077, issued Mar. 14, 1989 in the name of D. E. Woods, discloses apparatus that permits business transactions (checks) to be processed automatically when selected characters, i.e., dollar amounts can be identified. Otherwise, the transactions must be manually processed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,347, issued Feb. 7, 1989 in the name of Y. Sugahara et al, apparatus is disclosed for improving the operation of remote banking apparatus by providing for off-line execution of certain operations.
A need has been felt for a technique that can be used to monitor the progress of a check and transaction record processing activity without the delay resulting for manual input of data and without elaborate character recognition apparatus. The technique should provide for the integration of ancillary information with the information from the MICR fields in a manner that will assist in the monitoring and control of the processing activity.